Debbie, the oldest of three children, grew up in rural Central, South Carolina about a half mile from her grandmother’s dairy farm where she spent many happy hours. “Some of my fondest memories of those times were helping to feed the calves and sitting on the front steps of the milking barn drinking icy-cold milk from the tin cup Grandmother always kept for me next to where the freshly chilled milk poured down into big metal milk containers.”Bzdyl’s love of art began at an early age. “My mother used to say that I was born with a box of crayons in my hand.” But early on those crayons brought Debbie more trouble than praise. “I just couldn’t resist those lovely blank, white walls in the hall! Mom would take my crayons away. I’d cry and promise to never draw on the walls again. She would give in and let me have them back. I’d be good for a while but soon the urge would overtake me and she would catch me, once again, decorating the hall walls.” At age six, Debbie won her first drawing contest. “I always watched a Saturday morning children’s show called Tim’s Treetop Forest. One morning the host of the show announced that they were having a contest and would give prizes to the kids who did the best job drawing Brownie the Rabbit. Of course I had to enter. I drew my picture and Mom sent it in. Every Saturday I waited impatiently for the contest winners to be announced. How exciting when I heard my name read and was declared one of the contest winners! The prize didn’t excite me nearly as much as knowing I had won a drawing contest.”Bzdyl always felt a bit of an outsider in elementary school. The one thing that did make her feel more accepted was that she was usually the best artist in class.All through junior high and high school, Bzdyl took as many art classes as possible. During her junior year, she also took private art lessons. When she wasn’t in art class, she would do pencil portraits of classmates and sell them for $1.00 each.Since going away to college was not an option, Bzdyl attended Clemson University, only a few miles away from where she lived. At the time, Clemson did not offer an arts major, so she majored in industrial education and later switched to architecture. “My real passion was still drawing and painting, so, again, I took all the drawing and painting classes offered.”During this time she became interested in graphic design and began building a portfolio of her work. In 1983 Bzdyl got her first job as a graphic designer and paste-up artist in a small, local print shop. “Those were the days when the tools of the trade were hot wax, galleys, technical pens, rubylith, and Exacto knives. I do not miss those days!”In 1984 Debbie got a graphic design job at a local technical college. One Monday morning she saw a tiny Mac with a nine inch, black and white screen and a stack of software discs and manuals on her desk and was thrown headlong into the latest trend, desktop publishing.In 1987 she was hired by the Office of Professional Development at Clemson University to begin their new in-house marketing department. Bzdyl was in charge of designing all marketing materials for the department’s continuing education programs. By 1991, while still employed by the university, Bzdyl was also building a thriving freelance business. It finally got to the point where a decision had to be made: either cut back on her freelance work or give up the “day job” and venture out on her own. The desire to have a wider range of creative projects won out and Debbie began her graphic design business in 1992, which continued until she sold it in December 2013.This allowed her to return to fine art full time. “After selling my business, I went back to what I had always done: representational art. I soon realized it no long-er interested me and decided to try abstract. What a mind shift that was. Working with color, composition, light, and depth without rendering an object is exhilarating. I love creating a story without being tied to observational subject matter.”Almost immediately Bzdyl gravitated toward a theme of change that comes with the passing of time: from the constant evolution of the universe to the changes that take place in our own private journey through life as we grow, mature, and redefine ourselves. “I’ve always had a fascination and a feeling of connection with ancient cultures and the cosmos. I’ve always felt that I was an ‘old soul’ so working with themes that touch on these subjects came naturally. When I switched to abstract, I wasn’t even consciously thinking that this is what I wanted to paint. It was only later that I realized a strong thread in my work that dealt with these themes.”Whether in her early representational work or her later abstracts, Bzdyl’s technique evolved through her attraction to the feeling of light. “My paintings almost always have strong hits of light that give them a kind of luminescence.”Bzdyl further developed her abstract technique by taking numerous workshops from other abstract artists she admired. “As time passed, I incorporated many of the techniques I learned into my own style and discovered that I loved creating heavily textured paintings and working with a palette knife.”She feels fortunate to have done so well in a geographical area where representational art is much more the norm. “Many times, either at shows or in galleries where I’ve exhibited, people will often say that, even though they have never cared for abstract art, they like mine. Several of my collectors have told me that my pieces are the first abstracts they have ever purchased.”Since her return full-time to fine art, Bzdyl has exhibited and sold her art in local galleries, had several solo shows and been in many juried shows where she’s won numerous awards. In 2019 she was invited to be part of “A Celebration of Women Artists” exhibit at the Dan Lyles Gallery, Greenville, SC. When Debbie is not in her studio, she enjoys baking old world-style breads. “I have a wild yeast starter that I’ve had for more than 30 years. It always fascinates me at how many variations in flavor and texture I can get with just a few basic ingredients.”She and her husband love traveling in Europe. “Unfortunately, with the pandemic, we had to cancel our last trip to Paris.”When asked about her mission as an artist, Bzdyl replied, “My primary goal when creating my paintings is to visually capture the mysterious, the intangible, the emotions and concepts beyond what we can observe in everyday life.” “It is my wish that my art will touch viewers in a deeply emotional way, encourage them to revisit the myths and mysteries of our universe and inspire them to explore their own spirit and journey through life.”“Albert Einstein once said, ‘Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born.’ This deep passion to capture the ever-evolving mystery of becoming is what keeps bringing me back to the canvas.”Bzdyl’s paintings are in public and private collections throughout the U.S.